Tactical media are the field being worked by artists adopting a positive
attitude towards contemporary digital technology, in a critical,
innovative spirit. Media artists reveal a preoccupation with aesthetics
as a concept, not with a particular style. This trend is part of the
creation of a new language for the communications network era, a user
language which is successful as art because it transmits an effective
activism. Media activists are a hybrid of artist, scientist,
theoretician and political activist that shuns labels and
categorizations. Their creations are characterised by integration of
user and machine in the work itself, so that interactivity has an
important place within it. The concept of tactical media allows Art with
a capital and grassroots political activism to be combined and, in this
sense, we could include in it the tactical struggle that is part of
anti-globalisation movements. Media activists point to the power of
tactics as a means of breaking down the barriers between mainstream
values and alternative ones, between professionals and amateurs and even
between people who are creative and those that are not.

One of the biggest promises of the Internet was the
transformation of political activism. No longer would change come about
solely through the actions of large organizations, claimed the Web's
early enthusiasts. Now, they claimed, individuals could rouse the
concern of their fellow citizens for a particular cause through Web
sites, e-mail, and online petitions. Those who normally shunned
demonstrations and limited their participation in the public sphere
could be contacted personally in their e-mail box, and all that would
be necessary for them to do to show their support would be to click a
button or fill in a field. Soon, pundits predicted, there would be a
revolution in grassroots participation in the political process.

Ned Rossiter is is a media theorist who researches on the political dimensions of labour
and life in informational economies. He is currently investigating
global logistics industries and the intersections between labour
regimes, IT infrastructures, electronic waste industries and questions
of informational sovereignty.

The Yes Men are a group who use any means necessary to agree their way
into the fortified compounds of commerce, and then smuggle out the
stories of their undercover escapades to provide a public glimpse at the
behind-the-scenes world of big business.